This is a wonderful way to procrastinate and avoid tackling the grant proposal that I should be doing. It is my least favourite task when it comes to archaeology. It should be fun. Somehow, it should be easier to convince people that exploring the little known world of demons in second-millennium BC Egypt is fascinating. And it is! We get to look at artefacts like inscribed hippopotamus tusks, figurines, coffins with both text and representations, and even furniture such as inscribed headrests and try to figure out what role they played in the lives of ordinary people. It’s part of a larger Ancient Egyptian Demonology Project. The goal of this one though is in part to create digital data resources for other scholars and eventually the public. Databases, statistical analyses, data visualization—all important parts!

But first, time to email the Beirut Museum and chase up information from other excavators so I can get all the info I need to complete my project on Late Bronze Age Clay Cobra Figurines of Ancient Egypt and the Levant. It’s a real problem sometimes, and there will be gaps simply because I cannot get the data. Oh well, I’ll have good info on at least 400 or so of the 650+ fragments that have been found. They too were used to keep away demons … Right, enough procrastination! No more posts until I have complete a task!